


if it's love I'm in, I'd much rather sink than swim

by MagicaLyss



Series: Bluer Than The Sky (Whumptober 2019) [24]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Tony Stark Coparenting Peter Parker, Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Needs a Break, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Protective Peter Parker, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:00:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21877048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicaLyss/pseuds/MagicaLyss
Summary: Whumptober Day Twenty-Seven. RansomIt was one thing when Peter was taken. That was one thing.Peter’s a superhero. He has superstrength and about a million Stark devices on him at all times. He’s practically an adult now, or at least that’s what he says, and Tony’s grown to trust Peter’s instincts the majority of the time. He trusts Peter to get out of bad situations when he’s by himself. He’s done it so many times already, that Tony doesn’t worry so much anymore.But this?This is different.This is Morgan.
Relationships: May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker & Tony Stark, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Tony Stark, Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Bluer Than The Sky (Whumptober 2019) [24]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1502675
Comments: 17
Kudos: 348





	if it's love I'm in, I'd much rather sink than swim

It was one thing when Peter was taken. That was one thing.  
  


Peter’s a superhero. He has superstrength and about a million Stark devices on him at all times. He’s practically an adult now, or at least that’s what he says, and Tony’s grown to trust Peter’s instincts the majority of the time. He _trusts_ Peter to get out of bad situations when he’s by himself. He’s done it so many times already, that Tony doesn’t worry so much anymore.  
  


But this?  
  


This is different.  
  


This is _Morgan_.  
  


A defenseless child being taken.  
  


_His_ child taken.  
  
  
His children.  
  


And he knows Peter. Having Morgan there will mean he’s going to throw self-preservation out the window to protect Morgan. He’d do _anything_ to keep his little sister safe, no matter what it meant for him.  
  


It had been less than an hour since they had officially gone missing and Tony’s already beyond terrified.  
  


All of Peter and Morgan’s devices were found in Peter’s car, abandoned on the side of the road. He’d been on his way to pick Morgan up from school and when they didn’t make it home and weren’t answering Tony’s called, Tony knew something was wrong.  
  


And now they’re _gone_ and Tony has no idea where they are. No idea where to start.  
  


“Tony!” Natasha calls out, eyes hardened and focused. “We’re going to find them, but I need you to stop and breathe, okay? You can’t help them if you’re panicking like this.”  
  


He knows this. Rationally, of course, but he’s not really thinking rationally anymore. All he knows is the desperate _need_ to get his kids back that burns through his body.  
  


Sinking to the pavement, Tony tries to remember how to breathe. She’s right, he needs to calm down if he’s going to help at all, but it’s nearly impossible. Both of his kids are god-knows-where with god-knows-who doing god-knows-what.  
  


Peter’s stupid bumper stickers are right beside his head and he turns to read them over again. There are the stupid ones like the ones depicting a little Stick Figure Family with two women, a man, and two children. And then Morgan got a hold of the Sticker Maker, so there’s dozens of silly ones like dogs and cats and bumblebees.  
  


No matter how many times Tony told them that he doesn’t _need_ to keep them all up on his car, that it makes him look even more childish with all the silly stickers on his bumper, Peter never does take them down.  
  


He leaves them all there, covering the back of his car, the one Tony bought him for his sixteenth birthday before the Snap, but never had the chance to give it to him, and he even adds every new sticker Morgan gives him.  
  


Maybe that’s why Tony’s terrified.  
  


Because Peter will do _anything_ to keep Morgan happy. He’ll put up all her stickers and his bedroom walls are covered in Morgan’s artwork and they’ve been kidnapped and Peter will sacrifice himself over and over and over again to keep her safe.  
  


And Morgan’s just a little kid. Just a kid who likes making those stupid stickers of bumblebees and cats and dogs. There shouldn’t even be a question in her safety. She’s just a child.  
  


But they’re _gone_. They’ve been taken.

  
*

  
Peter’s car to doesn’t have any clues as to where they were taken, so Natasha’s taken to combing through security footage while Tony’s been told to take a breather and relax.  
  


As if he could just relax. His children have been taken.  
  


He can imagine Peter’s reaction to that. _“I’m not a child, Mister Stark! I’m eighteen now!”  
  
_

His kids are gone.  
  


It’s impossible to move his thought process past that point. All he can think is that.  
  


His kids are gone.  
  


And he has no idea what to do.

  
*  
  
He’s pretty useless over the next twenty-four hours of waiting.  
  


Natasha couldn’t find _anything_ useful in the security footage. There was the possibility of a lead, but it was a dead-end anyway.  
  


She’s now out trying to find something they could use as a starting point to find his kids, so he’s been left alone in the cabin. Pepper’s staying with May out in the city for both their sanity. They wanted Tony to be with them, but he needed to be at the cabin. Even if it was alone.  
  


He sits on the dock overlooking the lake, bare feet creating gentle waves in the water.  
  


Weightless and floating without having anyone to ground him.  
  


He hated feeling so useless, so pathetic. His kids could be _dead_ for all he knew, and there was nothing he could do but wait.  
  


Wait, alone and scared and weightless out on the dock. After the Final Battle, without one of his arms, with one good hand wouldn’t stop shaking, with a very worrisome heart, there was never anything he could do to help.  
  


Not for Peter on patrol, not for Morgan’s pretend games, not for situations like this. The worst case scenario.  
  


He couldn’t do _anything_.  
  


But wait.

  
*  
  
And then the email arrives.  
  


“I have to!” Tony shouts, ripping his good arm away from Natasha. “I can’t just _not_ give him the money! Those are my kids on the line!”  
  


He waves at the screen open behind him. The picture attached in the email evokes too much emotions deep inside his chest.  
  


Peter’s sitting against the wall, head leaned back against the dirty wall. His hair is messy and some of it is flattened to his forehead, sticking to the blood that’s staining his skin. There’s a little braid in his hair, Morgan’s doing he can assume, he wouldn’t put it past Peter to teach his sister how to braid hair in a situation like this. He’s covered in cuts and bruises, looks beaten within an inch of life, but he’s got Morgan tucked against his side, tiredly glaring at the person taking the photo.  
  


Morgan looks _fine_ , just like he knew she would. Peter’s kept her safe and sound. Her hair is double Dutch Braided. He doesn’t even know when Peter learned to do it. She’s clinging onto Peter’s arm, hiding her face against his shoulder. Peter’s flipping off the camera, holding Morgan protectively.  
  


There’s an awful spark of fear in Peter’s eyes as he looks somewhere above the camera, trying to hide it with his glare and middle finger up, but it’s still there, still prominent, like the blood on his skin.  
  


“You should know better than anyone that it’s not going to work,” Natasha says, voice even and calm. “You’re going to hand over the money and they’re just going to keep asking you to do more and more for your kids safety. You can’t give in to something like this.”  
  


“It’s only a few million!” He knows it’s not Nat’s fault, that he shouldn’t be yelling at her, but he’s desperate and angry and there’s a feral parental protectiveness arising in his chest like a wildfire. “I have more than enough to spare! I can’t let them- You see him, he’s already hurt, Nat, please, I can’t-”  
  


Natasha’s hand returns to his elbow, stabilizing him as best as she can. “I know, Tony, I know, but you need to trust me, okay? Trust me, I’ll get them home safe. You just have to be patient.”  
  


“He’s _hurt_!” Tony begs. “He’s my kid, I need- I can’t just _wait!_ I need him- I need them back now. Peter, he’ll-”  
  


“He’ll keep Morgan safe, Tony. He knows what he’s doing. Trust him and trust me, okay?”  
  


Tony shakes his head, backing away from Natasha. She doesn’t understand. Tony _can’t_ trust Peter in a situation like this. Peter will always sacrifice himself for Morgan. He’ll _die_ for her and he can’t lose Peter again. He can’t do it.  
  


“I know, Tony,” Natasha continues. “I know, it’s going to be okay. I’m going to take you to Pepper and May. I can’t trust you here alone. Just put a little faith in me and in your kids. I’m going to get them back to you before you know it, okay?”  
  
  
*

  
May is wonderful. She’s obviously worried, but she’s had to deal with this sort of thing more times than she can count. She even says that it’s easier for her to deal with her own worry when she’s taking care of someone else, that being Tony who’s in tears and shaking when he shows up at her apartment.  
  


She sits him down on their old couch, wraps him in a blanket that smells like Peter and is stained in glitter, and gets a mug of hot chocolate in his hands in record time.  
  


“Pepper’s sleeping,” May explains when she sits across from Tony on the coffee table. “She needed it. Been worried as all hell… Have you heard anything?”  
  


Tony explains it while looking into his mug, refusing to make eye contact. “It’s bad, May. He looked- Fuck, he looked bad. Hurt.”  
  


“That’s not too surprising,” May says, taking it all with so much ease. “He’s been taking paid lessons for the past few months learning how to do hairstyles, both for Morgan and for MJ. He felt bad that he couldn’t help MJ after he found out her dad never learned how to do her hair and her mom isn’t around anymore.”  
  


Tony can’t help the swell of warmth. “He’s so… May, he- he’d do anything for Morgan and I-”  
  


“Do you really think he’d let himself die in front of her?” May asks, lifting an eyebrow. “He would never put her through that kind of trauma. If anything, he’s going to hang on until he gets to a doctor and they’re going to fix him right up like they always do.”  
  


It’s a fair point.  
  


Tony isn’t sure why he didn’t think of it before.  
  


May takes the mug from his hands, settling it down on the coffee table. “Get some rest, alright?”  
  


“What happened to hating me?”  
  


She smiles, corners of her eyes crinkling. “I only hated you because you were keeping secrets from me. He’s _our_ kid now, so I’ve grown to like you. It’s kind of hard not to. Peter only talks about you like you’re royalty.”  
  


“Thank you,” he murmurs as May stands.  
  


Offering another weary smile, she nods, gently pushing on his shoulder until he lies down on the couch. “Of course. You’re always welcome.”  
  


Sleep doesn’t come easily, worry plaguing his every thought, but he hangs onto May’s comforting words like a life-line.

  
*  
  
  
Nat bursts into the apartment without knocking.  
  


The three of them are sitting around the small kitchen table, sipping on coffee and trying to stomach a little bit of food, when she arrives, eyes alight and weapons strapped to her hips.  
  


“I found them. Let’s go.”  
  


Tony, May, and Pepper all pile into May’s car, and Nat takes her motorcycle up ahead. She says it’s not an armed location so she’ll be able to take out anyone in her way by the time they get there.  
  


May drives and Pepper sits in passenger, calling out directions. Both women are straight-backed and chins up, expressions hardened, prepared for anything. Tony wishes he could be as strong-willed as them. Instead, he leans his head up against the window, clutching Peter’s blanket tightly in his lap to try to hide his shaking hands.  
  


They pull up outside a townhouse just as Natasha exits, Morgan lifted in her arms.  
  


“I’ll get Morgan,” Pepper instructs. “Go get Peter.”  
  


Tony nods and he races towards Natasha. “Where is he?”  
  


“It’s bad but he’s okay. He wanted Morgan out first. Begged me to take her first,” Natasha explains, gently handing a sleeping Morgan into Pepper’s awaiting arms. May wraps an extra blanket around her shoulders and soothes her when she wakes in tears.  
  


“Where is he?” Tony repeats demandingly.  
  


“Basement.”  
  


It’s all Tony needs to take off into the house, knowing Morgan’s in safe hands while he finds his other kid.  
  


“Peter!” He calls out, nearly falling down the stairs in his haste to get to him. He’s desperate and scared and all the fear that’s been accumulating for the past day and a half.  
  


Peter’s still sitting against the same damn wall, one of his eyes swollen shut as he blearily looks up at Tony. There’s a bruised handprint around his upper arm, a gash on his forehead, dried blood caking the side of his face. His shirt is sweat soaked and bloodstained, and Tony doesn’t even want to think about how wrecked his body is beneath the thin fabric. His lip is split, nose crooked and bleeding, nearly all of his face coloured in shades of purples and blues.  
  


One of his wrists looks at least fractured, maybe broken, cradled in his lap, but his other hand fumbles to grab Tony’s shirt, twisting in the fabric.  
  


“I’m sorry,” Peter cries, one open eye shining with self-loathing and guilt. “I’m sorry-”  
  


“Shh, kiddo, it’s okay. Shh,” he murmurs, very carefully brushing back Peter’s curls. “Let’s get you up to a doctor, alright?”  
  


He wraps Peter’s glittery blanket around his shoulders, before lifting his kid into his arms, ignoring his back’s protest and his real arm’s shaking struggle.  
  


As soon as they make it out of the house, Peter finally passes out, head falling against Tony’s chest and fingers loosening.  
  


“It’s okay, kid. I’ve got you.”

  
*  
  
  
It’s bad.  
  


According to Cho and Banner, it’s worse than Tony thought when he saw Peter. They have no idea how he held on for so long, but Tony knows.  
  


_Do you really think he’d let himself die in front of her?  
  
_

“I’m really sorry, Mister-”  
  


Tony cuts him off, pulling the kid into a hug and letting out a breath of relief. “You kept Morgan safe and calm and _happy_ , even. You- I hate how you can’t understand how you mean just as much to me as Morgan does, but I- I don’t know what I would’ve done if you weren’t there with her. I’m… I couldn’t be more proud of you for keeping her safe.”  
  


“I thought you were going to hate me,” Peter sniffles. “I couldn’t stop thinking that you’d- you’d hate me for letting us get taken like that. That I couldn’t even get her home safe. I thought- I thought-”  
  


Tony shushes him gently when he sees the spike in his heartrate on the monitors around him. “I could never hate you. Not for keeping Morgan safe in a situation like. I could _never_ hate you, bubba.”  
  


“Is she okay?” Peter asks, pulling away and rubbing his eyes, wincing at his slowly healing black eye. “She’s okay, right?”  
  


“She’s okay. And she loves the braids you did for her, nearly threw a fit when Pep tried to take them out so she could wash her hair. We promised her you’d do them for her again.”  
  


Peter nods, relief finally flooding his features and relaxing his shoulders. “And May?”  
  


“May’s good. She’s taking a well-deserved nap upstairs along with Morgan and Pep. It’s been a tough two days,” Tony explains quietly.  
  


His kid falls back into bed like a puppet who’s strings were cut. “Good. All over?”  
  


“Yeah, buddy, it’s all over. The two of you will be back to wreaking havoc in no time.”  
  


Peter’s eyelids drift shut, sleepily pulling his blankets up and grabbing onto Tony’s sleeve. “Mm, good. Gonna have a tea party. Promised her.”  
  


“Did you now?”  
  


“Mmhm. Promised you’d dress up as a fairy for her and we’d be princesses. Promised her.”  
  


Tony laughs quietly, brushing back Peter’s curls. “Good kid.”  
  


Peter hums, pushing his head against Tony’s hand like a cat. “Told her I’d do anythin’ for her.”  
  


“Of course you did.”  
  


“Love her.” Peter hums again, nearly purring as his body totally relaxes, trapping Tony’s hand between his cheek and the pillow. “Love you.”  
  


“I love you too.”  
  


His hand goes numb and his legs ache from the awkward position and the noise of the machines forms a headache. But he’d do anything for his kiddo. _Anything_.  
  


**Author's Note:**

> [My Tumblr](https://lyssismagical.tumblr.com/)


End file.
